We are the field catalyst
for state capacity
A government that reliably delivers outcomes is bigger than any single organization can realize alone. So we're building the field that can.
Every field needs a nerve center
A field catalyst is the nerve center of a movement: the function that aligns many independent actors, working at different altitudes, toward one ambitious, systems-level goal.
Other movements have had one. Each built connective infrastructure that turned scattered effort into durable change.
The state capacity field doesn't have that nerve center yet. We're building it.
“Transformation comes from fields with a plan, not projects with potential.”
Jennifer Pahlka · Co-founder, Board Chair, and Senior Advisor, Recoding America, in"Philanthropy’s Willie Sutton Problem” (Eating Policy, June 2026)
Every turn of the flywheel raises the ambition
A proof point shows what a better operating model looks like in practice. It builds momentum, attracting resources and political will. That momentum strengthens the field, drawing in new actors and investment. A stronger field can take on more ambitious reform — and the next proof point is bigger than the last.
A field catalyst accelerates every turn.
That's what we do.
How we accelerate the flywheel
Accelerating the flywheel takes more than money.
We play five roles:
Align diverse actors around shared reform agendas and build coalitions that wouldn't form on their own
Build →Co-build with partners to produce what the field can't yet produce alone
Advocate →Shift what's possible by shaping narrative, educating policymakers, lobbying through our 501(c)(4) entity (Recoding America Action), and building political infrastructure
Prove →Deepen, codify, and spread the shared knowledge base the field needs to aim higher and learn faster
What we're betting on
Our approach rests on a set of deliberate bets:
- 1
The gaps in ideas, political will, and collective action have to be closed together; none works alone.
- 2
The most durable coalition runs across party lines, not within one. State capacity reforms take years of implementation, so a winning strategy must be grounded in cross-ideological engagement. Why we're cross-ideological by design →
- 3
Breadth across competencies and levels of government is a strength.
- 4
Proof points turn collective action into momentum.
- 5
A time-bound field catalyst must be built to win, not to last, to keep the urgency this problem demands. We're on a six-year timeline, sprinting through 2032.
How we focus
The vision's surface area is broad, so we focus deliberately rather than pursue every opportunity that fits. We look for:
A credible impact thesis connecting the work to outcomes people care about.
Structural ambition, aimed at changing the system rather than working around it.
More on our ambition →Catalytic potential to compound far beyond the immediate scope.
Field-strengthening potential, building shared capacity and connections the whole ecosystem can leverage
What strong fields need →A compelling answer to "why us, why now," where the reform would stall without us and the moment is ripe.
We build a portfolio balanced across the four competencies, federal and state, and the ideological spectrum, with some nearer-term wins alongside the harder, longer ones.
That discipline also means saying no. We don't take on judicial-branch reform, go deep on specific policy verticals for their own sake (unless doing so teaches us about a foundational competency), or do transition planning for any single party. We help whoever is in power strengthen state capacity, whatever their politics.
Explore the portfolio
See how this focus shows up in the reforms we're supporting across the federal government and the states.